Saturday, September 20, 2014

Census: 'Gay Marriage' Official, but Fewer Marry

Despite the fact that most states do not recognize same-sex "marriage," President Obama's Census Bureau now classifies such "marriages" the same as natural marriages. The latest Census report shows that the percentage of Americans married is less than ever recorded — in fact, many studies find that the majority of Americans are single. According to the Census, less than five marriages out of one-thousand are so-called "gay marriages."

In prior years, the U.S. Census Bureau counted such couples as “unmarried partners,” even if they were legally married. But now, starting with the new annual American Community Survey, they are in among the family totals.

The change, however, won’t have a big effect on overall family statistics given how small the same-sex totals are . . .

Same-sex couples who live together but are not married are still counted as “unmarried partners,” the same designation for unmarried opposite-sex couples. The Census Bureau has counted same-sex couples since 1990.

The Census Bureau estimates there were nearly 252,000 households headed by same-sex married couples in 2013, a notable increase from the 182,000 estimated in 2012, but still a small fraction of the 56 million total U.S. married couples. . . .

The overall decline in marriage among adults in part reflects the rising age when people first get married. Although the median age at which Americans first marry was once in the low 20s, it’s now is in the late 20s for both men and women. But other factors may also be in play: Marriage is declining most sharply for less-educated adults.

In part because marriage is so uncommon at younger ages, the Pew Research Center analyzes marriage trends for adults ages 18 and older. A recent widely cited analysis by the Martin Prosperity Institute concluding that single people make up more than half the U.S. adult population based its numbers on ages 16 and older.

In the newly released data, same-sex cohabiting partners appear to make up a smaller share of 2013 households than in 2012. . . .